The importance of an active lifestyle cannot be understated. Keeping your body moving helps to reduce the risk of health complications later in life.
However, it doesn’t just help us physically but also can do wonders for our mental health, especially as we have spent so much of this year at home. Our mental and physical health is very much interconnected, and improving the latter will help the former, and vice versa.
Here are just a couple of ways keeping active improves our mental health.
Boosts To Endorphins
The most readily apparent way exercise improves our mood is that it releases chemicals in our brain that reduce pain, soothe stress and anxiety and help boost our self-esteem.
Endorphins can be boosted in a few ways, from eating dark chocolate to drinking one of your favourite CBD drinks, but exercise is one of the most effective ways to generate endorphins.
This does not have to be a marathon or a major weight session, but can simply be a walk around the block, or walking the dog.
For even better results, exercise with a group of people; the social interaction mixed with the physical activity will help produce endorphins.
Goals and Focuses
When you are exercising, most of our problems seem to be much further away. This is because when we are keeping active our focus is on our fitness goals and gives our mind a break from our everyday concerns.
It also allows us to physically step away from situations where we are more frustrated or anxious, and with that distance reassess and find a better way to resolve any problems we have.